Ever driven down a highway and wondered why there are so many self-storage businesses everywhere? Seeing those endless rows of storage units is bound to pique your curiosity and make you wonder what people put in them.
As our business continues to grow, we’ve tried to understand why customers come to us for our storage solutions. We wanted to know so that we could cater to their needs more effectively, so we did a quick survey and asked them directly. Many customers were more than happy to share with us.
Just under half of all our customers told us that they rented storage units to make it much easier to move from one residence to another. While that explains the reason for most of our customers, people also used storage units for many other reasons like removing clutter from their homes.
In this article, we’re going to share with you 12 of the top reasons people rent storage units. See if you can relate to any of them!
Top 12 Reasons to Rent Self Storage
For More Breathing Room While Moving
Moving homes is never easy, no matter the reason or how many times you’ve done it in the past.
That’s why people find it useful to rent a storage unit. Here’s how people tend to use storage units, according to their reason for moving:
Moving To A Smaller Home
People often move into smaller homes to downsize their living. As that happens, they might struggle with deciding which of their personal belongings and furniture to keep or throw away. Instead of rushing to make a decision, people often park their items in a storage unit so that they have more time to make a final decision on each of their items.
Preparing a home for sale
If you’re preparing to sell off your house, you’ll want to make sure it looks neat and tidy for potential buyers. Customers find it useful to remove just some items from their homes and keep them in a storage unit. That way, it’s much easier for them to make their homes presentable to buyers.
Mismatched moving dates
Renters will know what it’s like to move from one residence to another. Sometimes, you have to move your items out of the old place much earlier than you’re allowed to settle in the new one. With a storage unit, you can temporarily store your belongings and furniture safely without having to worry about them.
Working on the road
If you’re the kind of person who works on the road or serves in the military overseas without a permanent residence back home, a storage unit could be a lifesaver. Many renters prefer having a storage unit to keep all of their items in one place. Of course, when conditions change, and you can rent or buy a home, all you have to do is remove your items from the storage unit.
When moving back home
These days, an increasing number of customers are those who moved back into their parents’ homes. When that happens, people usually don’t want to fill up their parents’ house with too many of their personal belongings, which is why they prefer to use a rented storage unit instead.
To free up space at home
Remember how you used to ‘clean’ your room as a kid by stuffing everything into a closet? Well, this reason for using a storage unit is something like that.
Whenever people feel like decluttering their homes without throwing old stuff in the trash, they often choose to put it in a storage unit instead. After all, some of those items might still have plenty of sentimental value to the owners.
With a rented storage unit, the owners can have the best of both worlds. They can declutter their homes while still holding on to their precious items safely and securely.
That also applies to people who love to change their home decor often. Instead of throwing away home decor items they may want to use later, they can just store them away!
For long-term vehicle parking
Here’s something many people don’t realize: self-storage facilities also allow you to keep vehicles like cars, bikes, and boats. Whenever these items are not in active use, owners can store them away.
Most self-storage companies also provide outdoor parking spaces, both covered and uncovered. If you prefer pampering your vehicle, you can often rent a climate-controlled unit for your car instead.
To store supplies or belongings during renovations
This reason for renting self-storage units is pretty straightforward. Whenever customers are renovating their homes, they’ll either need a space to store their belongings or the supplies they’ll use for the project. Either way, a storage unit is a functional space for them to use.
For items with sentimental value
When loved ones pass away, the family will eventually have to go through the challenging process of sorting through their belongings. In some cases, there are too many items to sort through quickly. Or, the things that are left hold so much sentimental value that they need safe storage.
That’s why customers find it helpful to rent a self-storage unit to keep those items. That way, the items will remain safe somewhere away from home while they go through the grieving process.
To empty a dorm room for the winter
Winter is a time where college students head home to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with family and friends.
Before they leave Port St. Lucie and head home from Florida, they’ll need to vacate their college dorms. That’s why storage facilities near higher learning institutions have lots of college students as customers. Those units are handy over the holidays so that students don’t have to transport their belongings back home.
Quite often, storage facilities in college towns offer special deals for students going home for the holidays, too!
To keep businesses’ inventory organized.
Another major group of customers for self-storage companies is small companies. As these small businesses grow, they may not have the budget to build storage to keep their merchandise. Instead, they find that renting self-storage units is much more feasible.
Among this group, you’ll find customers that are contractors, dealers of all types of products, and even retail shop owners. They tend to find great value in self-storage units because they offer sufficient storage space at affordable prices, allowing them to manage their inventory much more easily.
As you can see, there is a wide range of reasons a person might use a self-storage unit. Whatever their reason is, paying for a unit allows them to store whatever they need to safely and securely.